Sarah Ysordia dances.
By Kim Lamb Gregory
The dance floor thumps under Sarah Ysordia’s feet as the music moves her. She pops her shoulders, snakes out one arm, then the other, then snaps her head to the left, to the right.
Like a shadow, American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter Destiny Bradford moves along with her, tapping her back, her arm, taking her hand to sign into her palm, letting her know the next dance moves.
“When I stand as a blind person and there are a lot of details happening around me, my interpreter uses her hand motions to demonstrate to me what they’re doing with their footwork,” Ysordia said. “I have a kind of muscle memory, and I am constantly using my muscle memory to remember every part of my dance.”
Ysordia is a dancer and third-year 91Ƶ student who is both deaf and blind. Born in Oxnard, she has been dancing since she was three and deaf since she was two.
Ysordia was diagnosed as a child with Usher syndrome, a genetic condition which can cause vision and hearing loss. Her vision began to fade at age nine, and in 2020, when she was 35, she became completely blind.
After high school, Ysordia enrolled in Moorpark College but struggled with her failing eyesight. She took a break and enrolled in a Los Angeles program for the blind, where she learned living skills as a deaf/blind person.
In 2009, she gave birth to her son Gabriel. Raising him as a single deaf/blind mother re-ignited her desire to work with others with disabilities — both parents and children.
She re-enrolled in Moorpark College in 2017 and in spring of 2022 graduated with associate
degrees in liberal studies and behavioral and social sciences, as well as having earned
a teaching certification in child development.
Still yearning to become a dance teacher, she enrolled in 91Ƶ in Fall of 2022 as a double major in Dance Studies and Political Science.
“I like public speaking and advocating for those with disabilities,” Ysordia said. “I like to make sure other people’s voices are being heard. I also like being involved politically because I think sometimes students with disabilities are scared to speak up.”
Ysordia’s timing was good. Associate Professor of Dance Studies Heather Castillo was designing 91Ƶ’s new major to reflect dance that originated in the U.S., and to make Dance Studies as inclusive as possible.
“Integrative dance is a natural extension of this program,” Castillo said. “We all learn in different ways, and some of us are going to need more support than others. Our space is open to everybody.”
Part of integrative dance is incorporating Ysordia’s interpreter Bradford, who is also a dancer, into the choreography.
“We all need one another to get where we’re going,” Ysordia said. “There will always be challenges in life, but when you find your soul and your destiny, no matter what you go through, you will succeed.”